An old soul with a new beginning.. Living life.. One moment into the next!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Atkins, Antidepressants, and Induction= No weight loss

Well, as most of you know, I have a pretty extensive history with Low Carb/ Atkins being fairly effective and Easy for me to lose weight on. Recently I decided to re-dedicate myself to the Induction phase of Atkins starting January 1st following an emotionally, mentally, draining situation (november & december) that occured causing me to not only fall off the wagon so to speak, but attempt to become the Size of the wagon as well.

I started taking Zoloft 100 mg every other day in June 2012. In November due to some overwhelming emotions and mental instability, I was then put on Zoloft 100 mg once a day and Klonopin (anti anxiety med) 1mg twice a day. In december, my doctor added a mood stabilizer Buspar..
Ok enough with those details heh..

So back to January 1st.. woohooo, I am so excited, I am SO ready to get back on track and undo the 12 pound gain that crept up on me in my ignorance since October.. but I wasn't going to look back into 2012 or my mistakes... This was a NEW YEAR, a NEW Attitude!! I dusted off the Ol' Low Carb Support Group I started on Facebook and started putting the word out that it existed for anyone who wanted to be a part of it.. Over days, I watched the group Grow and flourish.. over 100 new members. All struggling. encouraging, living, eating and learning by my side.. I have a GREAT Low carb support group.. because of this group I am not only active in my OWN weight loss mission, but I am kept on task as I make sure to help/advise my peers along the way. I'm drinking more water, adding back some exercise I had been skimping on, not cheating at all.. I am on a perfect road to weight loss!!

So, January 12th, I folded and decided I was going to take a peek at the scale.. I have done this before... Induction is a beautiful encouraging time of shedding that excess water weight in week one and starting the down hill trend it weight loss.. I just KNEW that holding back from the scale for those 12 days was really going to pay off Big time... WRONG!!!

I think time stood still as I stared at the SAME number I was looking at in December... NO Loss, No Gain.. just 12 days gone and nothing to show for it except the tears and confusion left on my face. This isn't possible. I did everything right. Hell, I am a veteran at this lifestyle. I know my body, I know the rules, I have learned over the past 9+ years what works, what doesn't, what is controversial or debatable.. I know all the ins and outs.. or so I thought.

There is one little thing I never knew.. because it never pertained to me or my lifestyle before now..

"What medications interfere with or need adjustment during Atkins?"ANSWER: Virtually all medications interfere. The most incompatible medications are:

Diuretics (water pills)

Psychotropic drugs, including prozac, -->zoloft<--, lithium, etc.

Whoa.. Wait.. WHAT????

Yeah, after hours and hours of reading hosts of forums, faqs, complaints, experiences of others.. finally it is all making sense.. but at what cost? Am I ready to ween off this antidepressant RIGHT before Nursing school starts, before I embark towards one of the biggest Accomplishments of my life.. am I willing to take that chance and use mind over matter, even though all along I have always felt this depression inside of me was chemical (meaning I can't just tell myself to feel better.. My chemicals won't let me)??

Well, the strong willed person that I am says YES, Start weening, You want to lose weight, and losing weight makes you feel good about yourself, gaining weight sends you spinning into an emotional tornado. Losing weight and "Controlling" it gives you One thing you have control over... afterall, don't we all like to know we are in control?

So, I started weening off of the zoloft, immediately started every other day for the first week, then I weighed in thinking Surely one week at half a dose should show Something...Wrong again.. I did not lose even One pound.. HOW THE HELL could this be happening to me???

Back to Google, *How does Zoloft affect your metabolism* *Why does Zoloft make you gain weight?* *How long does it take to lose weight after Zoloft* *How long does it take to get Zoloft out of your system* *What are the side effects of quitting zoloft cold turkey....*
Yes... I went there.. I want this stuff OUT OF ME!!!!! It can't kill me right? I am sick of trying SO HARD to lose weight, the only way I know how (Atkins) and seeing NO results at all! Every day I stay away from the scale I tell myself surely I must be losing weight because this is how I lost it before.. and the longer I stay off the scale, the bigger weight loss I am going to see!

I stepped on it this morning after No ZOLOFT for 4 days.. Induction level foods for 22 days... I gained 8 oz......................................

Really??

So, needless to say, I am a wreck right now emotionally and mentally because I decided I wanted Zoloft out of me ASAP, which has its adverse withdrawal effects, but I don't care, I will suffer through them and deal with it as it comes.. I am still taking my 1 mg of Klonopin for my anxiety each morning and my mood stabilizer... From what I have read, it may take over a month for my body to return to normal after quitting. I may not see any results from atkins for Another month??? Seriously?? And that is IF I am lucky, because I also quit smoking in June and I hear that lowers your metabolism by 10% (when you quit) So this whole experience is like a double whammy to me..

I am going to be the troubleshooter that I am and Stay ON the mood stabilizer and anti anxiety pills and IN Induction for now and wait about another month to see if I start Losing weight.. If I don't, I will most likely start talking to my doctor about a different medication for the anxiety.. as of yet, I have not found anything online about the Klonopin or Buspar stalling or preventing weight loss on Low Carb/Atkins.. But God forbid I don't start losing weight.

I can't wait till these withdrawal effects are done and over with, I feel horrible emotionally.. HORRIBLE!!! *sigh* I will just hang in there and see how I turn out in a month.. if I STILL can't kick the depression, I will speak with my doctor about other options that DO NOT mess with my weight...

Disclaimer: I know EVERYONE reacts differently to different medications, I lost 40 lbs successfully on lexapro quite a few years ago, while following low carb. I Also know some of you may be losing just fine on atkins AND Zoloft.. but I am not you. Also, I feel obligated to say this, When weening off of any medication, you should always work with your doctor in doing so. (just an FYI and admission to my Not following the rules)

UPDATE: ALSO.. please please please do NOT quit any medication, including ZOLOFT, cold turkey!! It was a horrible, ugly experience, emotionally mentally and physically.. I was literally in pain from the withdrawal effects.. I DID end up going back on Zoloft the day after this initial Blog, and ween myself properly. Do yourself and your family a favor and do NOT go COLD turkey!!

Ty so much, for the comment, how did you know buspar is bad too? I have taken it upon myself to start searching for any issues with weight loss with buspar and have yet to find something.. What was your personal experience if you don't mind sharing? If that be the case, is definitely like to stop the buspar as well..

So glad I'm not the only one doing Atkins and struggling with what Zoloft has done to my body. About to start induction but won't have the drive to get through it if I don't see results. Maybe I'll wait until I'm weaned off of Zoloft.

Thanks for this post, it's something that people don't realize (including doctors!) I more than nine months OFF of Zoloft and my weight has barely decreased. It's driving me crazy. I'd love to hear your progress since January!

I would love to be able to give a progress report but I still had quite a few factors affecting my weight loss. now that first semester is over, I have been back on track trying to fight through the mental and emotional stress of my home life and have the must control over my diet and exercise as well.. Its a constant battle unmedicated to be honest.. Not to mention stress causes weight gain or inability to lose weight. I am basically suffering from ptsd with a constant reminder living with me. I am hoping to have a good update by the end of June and I'm praying that my metabolism and body have finally made it back to normal as singe people claimed it would take months. I'm not going to lie, after this initial part, everything went diem hill for quite some time a far as carrying about myself and my weight loss journey. I feel like I just became so frustrated and then overwhelmed with life that I didn't care for a few months. No I didn't go crazy.. I've been so set in the low carb lifestyle that staying away from write flour and sugar are like second nature to me.. But I was making some poor choices very frequently. Let's all cross our fingers that this this time my body is ready to shed weight and back to normal

I know this blog was started a couple of years ago. But if anyone is still watching it. I had a similar experience on zoloft.

Absolutely could not lose weight no matter how long I stayed in the induction phase. I was completely miserable.

At one point before I started this diet I decided to stop taking zoloft cold turkeyand it nearly killed me. I do not recommend ever trying it.

I've also been on klonopin and it gave me side effects I couldn't handle. So for now I just deal with the anxiety. I also have ptsd and depression and have gainedweight from the combination of meds and depression.

At this point there is no way I can go off the meds. So the struggle continues. I hope to be able to get there through better food choices and exercise which seems as likely as winning beauty contest at this point. But atkins + zoloft was also a flop for me.

I am on zoloft now and in the process of going off of it cold turkey. I gained about 15 lbs in 2 months and i had an eating disorder for years. I got it in order after my 2 children and was the same weight for about 7 years. This medication caused me to gain weight so fast while still eating healthy. Im losing my mind. How long until my body is mine again?

Man! Do I relate! going on a year on Zoloft. Gained 25 pounds. This is the heaviest I've ever been in my life. I'm a guy and I look pregnant. One blog said that if you're depressive, DON'T do atkins because ketosis interferes with seratonin. I so desperate, I'd be willing to try Atkins again, but not if the agony of inductions is pointless. From what I gather from others, the Zoloft per se causes the gain.

With me, I have both a craving for carbs, plus the zoloft gives me a WTF attitude. But I am afraid if I go off the zoloft, that I'll become emotionally out of control. (I took it because of inconsolable grief. I would start crying for no reason and couldn't stop)

I am on Duloxetine (Cymbalta) maximum strength now for Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy. It is working. Have been on it for almost 5 years. Gained 40 pounds, but I can walk. I made the choice to be chubby and be able to walk.Trying Atkins again, always great results. Have been on induction for almost six weeks. Only lost 5 pounds. WHAT??? Amazingly my stomach has decreased in size for sure. But the scale doesn't lie. I cannot get off my medication. At least now I know what the heck the reason is I haven't lost but 5 pounds.So sad, I loved Atkins.